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The tall tales of Myer conman

Tom Cowie

It’s a story that mirrors the deeds of the con artist portrayed by high flying Leonardo di Caprio in Catch Me If You Can: a smooth talking American effortlessly bluffing his way into a string of glamorous jobs.

Melbourne man Andrew Flanagan, whose fake CV led to him being sacked shortly after being appointed to a top position at Myer, leaving executives red-faced, recently quit after two months as head of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry after telling similar falsehoods.

In a bizarre twist, Fairfax Media can also reveal links to the office of Victorian independent MP Geoff Shaw, who has employed Mr Flanagan’s wife, Ena, as an electorate officer. Documents also show Mr Flanagan, a father of four who lives in Mount Waverley, filed for bankruptcy in 2009.

Those who know Mr Flanagan, who also goes by the pseudonym Jeffrey Flanagan, say he is a ''smooth talker'' and a ''bit of a chameleon'' who tells grand stories about his background.

''He talked the talk,'' said one person who has had dealings with him.

''He would tell stories of his US football career and how his father negotiated the Iraq troop pull-put. You’d look at him and say, 'the guy’s full of shit'.''

Myer sacked Mr Flanagan this week on his first day as group general manager of strategy and business development after he falsified his job history. He said he had worked for major retailers, including Zara and Inditex Group.

Quest Personnel, the Geelong-based recruitment agency who put Mr Flanagan forward to Myer, said it had been duped by Mr Flanagan, who provided it with ''incorrect and misleading information''.

Questions are being asked about how Quest landed the job to place Mr Flanagan at Myer. Quest is a small recruitment agency that sometimes operates out of the home of managing director Lorraine Tribe.

It is understood Myer previously used executive headhunter Egon Zehnder for big hires. One senior Myer executive confirmed Mr Flanagan had been given ''full visibility of Myer’s strategy documents'' after landing the job.

But Myer was not the only big company fooled by Mr Flanagan. A number of other major retailers are believed to have been interested in hiring him after interviews at a board level.

The Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce also took him on as its chief executive in December after he claimed to have worked as the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.

According to the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce website, Mr Flanagan was hired due to his ''extensive experience'' in business and government in ''both senior executive and board positions''.

References provided by Mr Flanagan confirmed his story. But once the board started to question his bona fides, he resigned.

It is understood Mr Flanagan never worked at the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia and has never been CEO. He is originally from Searcy, Arkansas, and does not speak Arabic.

A senior member of the chamber confirmed the organisation believed Mr Flanagan had been ''fraudulent and misleading'' in attaining the role. A number of different organisations have said they will inform the police about his activities.

There is not a lot of information available publicly about Mr Flanagan. He was involved with the Nunawading Swimming Club, one of the largest swimming clubs in Australia, before resigning this week.

He claims to have an MBA from the Melbourne Business School and to be a graduate from the University of Melbourne’s Law School.

Repeated attempts to locate and speak with Mr Flanagan have been unsuccessful.